Don’t let your dreams be dreams

“Don’t assume your dreams are just fantasy. If you can imagine a world, believe in it… and dive in.”

Yeah, this is another Kingdom Hearts reference. Sorry, not sorry. And yeah, that headline is from Shia LaBeouf’s “Just Do It” motivational speech. Again, sorry, not sorry.

Anyway. I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately. We’re done with the references now, onto the point. Every once in a while, and more often than not lately, I’ll have a dream that’s so vivid and fantastic that I wake up and either feel an insatiable urge to write it all down or go directly back to sleep in hopes of returning to that dream. Sometimes it’s just a great, new idea that I feel might be helpful in writing or just in general. Sometimes it’s just some cool shit or a ‘better’ version of reality. I know this phenomenon can’t be exclusive to me, but hey, maybe I’m among the few who put stock in their dreams.

It’s not even to say that I get a lot of my ideas from my dreams because I don’t. But I do like to try to find some meaning in them. It may just be my mindset of trying to find meaning in most interactions realistically, but I’d like to reject that theory. If you’ve ever taken any basic psychology class, the idea that dreams have a deeper meaning shouldn’t surprise you. Just in case, check out this huge library of interpretations of symbols in dreams (remember they are all interpretations not fact, but Freud and Jung are cited a few times if it makes you trust it a little more).

But clearly, the quote isn’t specifically referring to actual dreams you have while you’re sleeping but rather your hopes, aspirations, ideas, etc. That can mean anything from a world without racism, sexism, classism, etc. to coming up with a great idea for a book, movie, game, etc. Just because it doesn’t exist now, doesn’t mean it can’t exist. And unless you give that dream life, it could very well die.

Let’s slow down for a second, things are getting a little too broadly inspirational now. What I’m trying to say is, don’t doubt yourself. I know I’ve said more than a few times that feedback and criticism are important in creating something new, but don’t let the negative stuff hold you back. It’s your idea so you can always change it. And you may even come up with a better idea and scrap the new one. I’m not trying to tell you to fully immerse yourself in your dream, but I’m not saying that’s a bad plan either. But if you think it’s worth a damn, don’t let anyone stop you from believing in it. Give it a voice and listen to what it has to say.